Ultimate Sacrifice
by dancingwithinsanity
Summary: While on Midgard, Loki and Thor discover that they aren't the only gods on Earth. Chaos, mischief and a little love ensue. Slight AU, Rated T for slight violence Loki x OC x Thor
1. 1) Encounters

**Revised on 13/06/2013**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything other than my OC. *sigh* If only... **

_I want something good to die for_  
_To make it beautiful to live._  
_I want a new mistake, lose is more than hesitate._  
_Do you believe it in your head?_

_-'Go With the Flow' by Queens of the Stone Age_

**Chapter One: Encounters**

It was through a series of rather odd and unfortunate events things ended up the way they did. Mind you, the Fates had never been to kind to Kaehra so it was to be expected. They weren't necessarily cruel or unjust, just... not entirely nice. Life seemed to have a funny way of going about things, especially when it concerned her. So perhaps it was fate, under the guise of coincidence and fortuity that Kaehra found herself in the same place as Asgardians.

Of course she had played a role in it too. Kaehra was the one who had snuck onto the ship, and she was the one who had first spoken. Perhaps it would have been better just to ignore the incredibly obvious aircraft flying around in her skies, but she was always a curious child. Curiosity killed the cat, or so the Midgardian expression went.

"It's an impressive cage, not built I think for me." He was laughing now, inside his head. All these pitiful mortals scrambling and scuttling around like insects to try and contain him. Ha! He'd let them have their fun for now. The looks on their faces when he just simply walked out of his glass prison would be beautiful. Pathetic. He'd handed himself over to them, practically gift wrapping and tying a nice little ribbon around himself and they still didn't have a chance.

"It's built for something a lot stronger than you." Loki doubted that.

"Oh, I've heard." He grinned; it was so hard to resist toying with the Midgardian and his band of merry men further. He already had them dancing around like puppets on strings and the fools didn't even know. "A mindless beast who makes play he's still a man. How desperate are you that you call upon such lost creatures to defend you?"

"How desperate am I? You threaten my world with war. You steal a force you can't hope to control. You talk about peace and you kill because it's fun. You've made me desperate. You might not be glad that you did."

"Ooh, it burns you to have come so close. To have the Tesseract, to have power, unlimited for what? A warm light for all mankind to share? And then to be reminded what real power is." He was having far too much fun with this. Mortals, and their tiny little minds. Minds so easy to bend and break and manipulate and shape. Just what Loki was good at.

The Midgardian was smirking now. "Well, you let me know if 'real power' wants a magazine or something."

Loki frowned slightly. Was the mortal making fun of him, a god? The Midgardian would be in pieces all over the floor, still alive but begging for death if not for his purpose aboard this confounded aircraft.

Sometimes, Loki hated making plans ahead of time.

"It wouldn't be wise to take such violent actions so soon for such a small matter, Asgardian."

Loki whirled around in an instant, facing the direction the voice came. In the corner of the room stood a woman, a girl really. Her face was narrow and pixie-like with soft, delicate features that were framed by long, dark brown hair that fell just past her waist. She was relatively short, but compared to him most were. Her sharp chin, too-large eyes framed by thick, dark lashes and button nose gave her the appearance of a doll. Far too innocent and childish to be in front of him speaking in such a manner.

Her eyes, however, told a different story. The left was a pale icy blue and the right was a darker, midnight-blue version of its twin. Both were cold and hard, very different from the rest of her features. She wore a dark blue tunic with a leather belt around the waist, dark trousers tucked into brown leather boots and silver forearm guards. Not the typical Midgardian attire.

Loki raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And what would I do if I chose to 'take such violent actions'?" He wasn't fond of this woman-child thing with strange eyes speaking to him so callously.

"You were planning to kill that man."She replied with her soft, quiet voice.

"It is of no concern to you what I chose to do and not to do." He all but snarled at her.

"He is an innocent civilian caught up in your childish games. There is no need to harm him."

"I doubt that man is anything close to being a harmless civilian." Loki disliked her sharp, words and accusing stare. "I will warn you only once more. This is of no concern to you, girl."

"I said innocent, not harmless."

Loki growled. The the woman-child was infuriating. "Still that tongue of yours if you wish to keep it. I am in no mood for games."

The woman just sighed and stepped even closer to cage. "Neither am I, Prince of Asgard."

Loki raised an eyebrow at that. "How do you know of my title, Midgardian?"

"I never said I was Midgardian; you just assumed." She was silent for a moment as if she were considering something, before continuing. "You are a prince. It is customary for your subjects to know your face and your title."

"If you are of Asgard, how did you come to be on this realm?"

The woman was still, but her eyes flashed. "I see no reason to tell you that, Prince Loki."

"I was not asking."

"It sounded like a question." The woman quipped, the corner of her mouth twitched upwards.

"Do not toy with me, woman. I will not hesitate to snap your neck." Loki hissed.

"That would be a pity."

He sighed. "I grow weary of this game. What is your purpose here?"

The woman gave the faintest of frowns, which disappeared as quickly as it came. She walked closer to Loki's glass prison, so her nose was almost pressed against it, but continued to walk. Where the glass was, her body simply walked through as if the barrier was nonexistent. She continued to walk until she was within arm's reach of Loki.

"I would ask you to give up the Tesseract." She said without a shred of emotion.

Loki laughed; out of all the things she could have wanted, that was the last thing he would have expected. "And why should I do that? You have not even given me your name. I have no reason to do as you ask."

The woman frowned again. "My name is Kaehra, goddess of the wind and storms."

"Kaehra." Loki said, tasting the name on his tongue. It was a rather unusual name, even for an Aesir, but he was not one to judge. "I will ask again; why should I surrender the Tesseract?"

"Innocent lives will be hurt and this planet will know war. I wish to prevent that."

"This realm is not your home, and the people no longer serve you. Why do you protect them?"

"My reasons are my own. Where is the Tesseract?"

Loki took two quick steps so he was now directly in front of Kaehra. He leaned in, so close he could feel her breath on his neck and looked down. She was barely tall enough to reach his chin, so she had to tilt her neck to look up at him, her multi-coloured gaze sharp and defiant. Loki smirked as he felt her breath quicken slightly; she was scared of him, even if she showed no outward signs of it.

Loki leaned down and whispered in her ear, unable to restrain himself from baiting her further."If you want to protect this realm so much, why not join me?"

Kaehra's eyes narrowed before she stepped back. "I have no intention of joining you in your quest to enslave Midgard."

Loki smirked. "Enslave? No, I mean to rule them."

"Is that not the same thing?" Kaehra continued to back away until her back met the glass. Instead of sliding through it, like Loki she had the first time, she simply stood there, looking very much like a caged animal.

"Why do you not flee from me? You stepped through the glass before. Why not do it again?"

"Why do you avoid my question?"

"I do not. You, however, are avoiding mine." Loki was grinning now, a mad, almost feral grin plastered to his handsome face.

"It is not important." Kaehra insisted.

The smile never left Loki's face as he walked over to where Kaehra was cowering. "You asked me to do something for you; I expect you to answer my questions." He leaned in closer, much like he had before.

"I see no need to answer your questions; uou refused to meet my demands."

"So I did."

Both were silent for a moment. Loki looked down upon the tiny girl. Her eyes were still full of rebellious protests and her small mouth was hard and stern. He leaned in closer, meaning to intimidate her before he jerked back, as if burned,his eyes narrowed and flashing dangerously.

"You reek of dark magic." He growled, placing a large hand over the slender column of her throat, the other on the glass beside Kaehra's head. "Strong magic. Why?"

Kaehra was silent, her face a mask of indifference as ifhe had never spoken a word to her.

"I asked you a question, girl. The only one who can conjure and control that level of forbidden magic is me, and I have never seen you before in my life. Who are you?" He hissed, squeezing her neck.

"I am Kaehra, goddess of the winds and storms." She was smirking, the corner of her mouth slightly upturned, but enough for him to notice.

Loki grabbed a handful of dark hair with the hand previously on her throat and tugged painfully. "Do not test me, or you will live to regret it." He was seething now. "Who sent you? Or are you master of black magic? Answer me girl!" He tugged at her hair again, yanking her head to the side.

Kaehra winced but still said nothing. Loki's gaze travelled down past her stubborn, pointed chin, long neck and protruding collarbones before settling on several dark lines that spread from underneath her tunic up her neck like branches of a tree. His eyes flicked up to Kaehra's before he brushed her hair away from her neck. The thin lines and the paleness of her skin contrasted sharply, making the design stand out all the more. The inky black tendrils curled up from some unknown place hidden by her tunic past her collarbone and up her neck, ending just before her knew what this was. As a master of magic himself, he was no stranger to curse marks.

Loki released Kaehra from his grasp and stepped back. She stood up straighter before tenderly massaging her neck where Loki had held it tightly in his strong hands.

"You are cursed." He meant it more as a statement, not a question.

"Yes."

"When?"

"A long time ago." Kaehra whispered. "By someone I trusted very much."

"Is there a way to undo its power?" Loki asked, curious.

"Perhaps."

Loki smirked yet again, that mischievous, 'I know something you don't' smirk. "Join me and I will help you reverse it."

Kaehra glanced up at him, eyes flashing with defiant fire,and held his piercing emerald gaze. "Your sweet words will not work on me, Silvertongue." Loki's eyes widened in surprise for a brief moment before he regained his composure; few could resist his honeyed words and gentle coaxes.

"Why are you so opposed to my company?" Loki replied, purposely ignoring Kaehra's previous response.

"I already answered this question. And I am not opposed to your company; I am opposed to your goals. I would rather die than help you enslave and destroy this planet."

"Is it really worth it? To remain cursed forever just to save a race of pathetic mortals that would never raise a finger to help you? You would do that for them?"

"Yes." She retorted.

"Then you are a fool." Loki snarled, angry that she had brushed him off so easily. Kaehra paid no attention to this, and slipped through the glass of Loki's cage with no resistance, just like the first time.

"Perhaps I am." Kaehra whirled around to face him. "You would do well to give up the Tesseract now and return to Asgard."

"I cannot do that."

"Then you are doomed to fail."

"How do you know? I will succeed in my plans. Join me and I will spare your precious Midgard any unnecessary harm."

Kaehra was silent for a moment before she glanced back at Loki, her polychromatic eyes showing just a sliver of regret. "I will leave you now."

Loki stared back at her. "Will you return?"

"Later. I have things to attend to that cannot be ignored."

"Fine, we will finish this when you return." Loki declared.

Kaehra raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Do you desire my company that much?"

Loki snorted. "I wish only to convince you to join me. Your company has nothing to do with it. Your curse intrigues me, nothing more."

It was Kaehra's turn to smile. "Until next time, my Prince." Kaehra stated before she raised one arm, so that the hand was just below her waist and flicked her wrist. A soft breeze swirled around her, growing in intensity,making her long hair dance and giving Loki one last glimpse of Kaehra's curse mark. The air continued to swirl around her and she gave him a final nod of farewell before disappearing with the wind.

Loki's lips twitched upwards in a smirk. "Until next time, my dearest Kaehra."

**_Author's Note: _**Loki, stop being mean and pulling on people's hair! That's not very nice. But what do you think of the new and improved version of this story? Kaehra's a little different and the story line won't be exactly the same as the old Ultimate Sacrifice, so tell me what you think! Please review! It encourages me to write. *wink, wink* No flames please, but constructive criticism is much appreciated.


	2. 2) Tesseract

**_Revised and Re-posted on 20_****_/06/2013_**

**Disclaimer: I only own my OC. Any other characters belong to their respective owners. **

**_Although no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending. _**

_― __Carl Bard_

_**Chapter Two: Tesseract**_

_The blood dripped down her abdomen and ran in rivulets down her face. Thunder screamed above her and rain clouds swirled as lightening lit up the sky. The wind tore past her, whipping her dark hair into her face. Her once-white gown was stained with dirt and blood and ripped in far too many placed to be considered decent and proper. But she ignored this all as she ran faster, her limbs burning with crimson fire in protest. Her feet pounded against the slippery ground, much like her heart. They sunk into the soil with every step from the rain, splattering her legs with mud. Her feet were bare and every so often, the odd stone would cut into cut into the soles of her feet or slip on the wet grass below her. _

_'Don't stop running. Don't stop. Whatever you do, keep running.' her mind chanted like some kind of mantra, like it was some sort of spell that would help her. But she was no fool; no silly cluster of nonsensical words would help her now._

_"__Kaehra." A bone-chilling voice cut through the night, completely silent besides her heavy breathing and occasional sob. "Kaehra, my sweet, darling Kaehra, you've been causing trouble again, have you not?" The voice chastised. _

_Tears streamed down her face and she ran even faster than before, if that were possible. All thoughts were wiped from her mind as it was consumed by an inescapable terror. It coursed through her veins and gripped her soul. 'Perhaps this is what death feels like.' The thought cut through her brain like a hot knife through butter. The fear was palpable as it danced on her tongue and threatened to freeze her body. But she couldn't. To stop would be to die, and she couldn't die. Not yet, not like this. _

_Her feet stumbled over the roots of an unseen plant, most likely a tree, and she fell, her body falling into the mud gracelessly. 'No, no, no. Not now. Please, no.' Her fingers scrabbled at the ground, trying to crawl away and pull herself to her feet but her fingers grasped nothing as the unforgiving ground tore the skin and nail, leaving them bloodied and numb. The exhaustion of the entire night hit her like a rampaging Bilgesnipe and her limbs felt heavy and dull. The adrenaline had left her in a rush and she was left a weak, quivering, exhausted mess. _

_She could hear footsteps now, slow and deliberate; he was taking his time with her, letting her feel the fear and hopelessness of the night. Was it night now? She hadn't bothered to look up at the sky to see and her eyes were clouded with emotion. It was dark now and she could barely see the hands shaking in front of her face, so perhaps it was nighttime. Odd. She was sure it had been around mid-afternoon the time she had left her home. _

_"__Kaehra, it's not polite to run." That smooth, lilting tenor that some women of the court found so very attractive drifted through the night. It sent shivers down her spine for a very different reason. The voice was close now, so close she could almost feel his breath against her face whispering the words into her ear. _

_She scuttled back like one of those Misgardian sea creatures on her hands and feet, trying to get away. She faced the direction the voice came from, her eyes frantically searching the night but seeing nothing besides pitch black. _

_Her back hit something hard and jagged: a boulder of some kind. The pointed edges dug into her back, providing a temporary escape from the fear that ensnared her mind. The footsteps grew closer, louder. The fear crawled back into her mind._

_Then the footsteps stopped. _

_"__Did you really think you could get away from me?" The voice called in that lilting tenor she had quickly grown to hate. Her eyes, misty with tears, slowly looked in front of her but not daring to look up. A pair of leather boots covered in dirt and blood filled her vision. A pair that wasn't hers. A pair of boots she knew so very well. _

_She couldn't breathe._

_She couldn't think. _

_She couldn't feel. _

_Her heart pounded so hard it hurt and her limbs trembled. A strong hand grabbed her chin, bruising the soft, tender flesh there. The fingers yanked her head upwards. There was blood under his fingernails and dried in the creases of his palm "Look at me." She obeyed, albeit reluctantly. His indigo eyes were glazed over and filled with madness. A crooked grin was plastered to his face. His unruly, chocolate hair fell in front of his face but he made no move to brush it away. The silver hoops in his ears glinted, as if mocking her and the ring he wore dug into the flesh of her jaw. _

_"__Kaehra, it's not polite to glare." He sneered, the demented smile still present. _

_She said nothing, only grimacing as the blood on her forehead dripped into her eyes, stinging with fiery persistence. He removed his hand and turned his back to her. _

_"__Do you know why I have done this?" _

_"__No. You tell me nothing." _

_"__Then I shall tell you." _

_Her eyes widened slightly and she pressed her back even farther into the stone. His hands were raised in a gesture of mock-surrender before he reached into the folds of his cloak and pulling out an object hastily wrapped in cloth. He looked at her briefly, grinning maniacally and unwrapped the parcel. _

_Kaehra gasped. In his hands was a glowing cube, pulsing with an ethereal blue light. It was mesmerizing to watch the way the lights danced beneath the cube's surface, constantly expanding and contracting, but it made her shiver. _

_"__Severan, what have you done?" She whispered. _

Pieces in Kaehra's mind slowly clicked together as her vision cleared. After visiting Loki, she had wandered around the metal halls of the Hellicarrier, just daydreaming and reminiscing. That was how she had come by this room, a laboratory, with dull gray walls and enormous windows that overlooked the rest of the ship._Large screens and computers covered the surfaces and hung from the ceiling, attached to mechanical arms. _

_Directly in front of her was what had caught her eye, though. An intricate diagram and several lines of text, along with complex calculations and detailed descriptions covered the screen of an enormous computer. She knew the object the screen was displaying immediately; she would have recognized that glowing blue cube anywhere. _

_Asgard. _

_Power source. _

_Retrieval. _

_Containment._

_Protection._

_The Norns did have an odd way of tying the threads of destiny, an expression Kaehra had been told more than once in her youth, if this was how she would find the Tesseract after all these years. _

_'Midgardians, what have you gotten yourself into?' Kaehra thought miserably, an exasperated sigh escaping her lips. _

_"__Ma'am, I'm going to need you to leave. This is a restricted area." A stern, but feminine voice called, cutting through the silence. Kaehra whirled around. It was rare that she was so deep in her own thoughts that she didn't notice someone behind her. _

_The figure, a woman, was rather short, but curvacious, with short, curly hair the color of sunset and piercing green eyes. Her hands were at the gun holster at her thigh, ready to draw and shoot at any moment. _

_Kaehra silently cursed the Norns and the Fates and the gods of Asgard: whomever crossed her mind in that moment. The Fates truly were cruel to bring someone of her likeness in front of Kaehra, especially at a time like this. The universe had no concept of mercy, especially when it came to her. _

_"__I won't ask you again-" _

_"__What will you do with the Tesseract once it is recovered?" Kaehra interrupted, shoving her emotion-driven thoughts into the recesses of her mind._

_The woman's only reaction was a barely-noticeable tensing of her jaw. "That's classified information." _

_"__The Tesseract," Kaehra began, "Should never have been touched by Midgardian hands. No hands should have ever touched it. It should have been left in some corner to gather dust, not as a cause to begin some war or as an energy source." _

_"__And why not?" A deep voice, a man's, replied this time. Kaehra didn't flinch as a tall, dark skinned man with an eye patch covering on of his eyes stepped into the room. _

_"__Director Fury." _

_The man nodded in the female's direction before turning to Kaehra. "Who are you?" _

_"__My name matters little right now. Give up your search for the Tesseract." _

_"__I'm afraid I can't do that." _

_"__Then you should send it back to Asgard. No good will come of it remaining here." _

_"__And how do you know so much about the Tesseract?" Director Fury, or so the green-eyed woman had called him, had asked._

_Kaehra wanted to sigh. Humans: so inquisitive but so foolish at times. It was part of the many reasons she was fond of them. They were like children, seeing the world for the first time. They wanted to touch everything and leave their mark everywhere. They still had much to learn, though. _

_"__The Tesseract, if not surrendered to the Asgardians, will destroy you more than any weapon or outside force can. Death will be your only escape from its grasp." _

_**Author's Note: **__Well, I hate this chapter. Especially the second half. I wrote it while sick and still have a fever so forgive any mistake. So yes, you've more-or-less met Severan, who'll be an important character. For people who read the first version of this story, Severan's going to be quite different. And who's this mysterious Natasha look-alike? She'll be pretty important later on, and she's a new addition. And the Tesseract... What do people think about this development? It's not as great as some might think. Can I please have some reviews? No one reviewed last chapter and I really want to know what people think._


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